NEW CHAPTER

Despite growing awareness and the efforts of government and international non-profit organizations, the world’s water continues to come under threat because of carelessness, neglect and waste. Pollution levels are rising – and something must be done. Luxury Swiss watchmaker Oris introduced the Source of Life Limited Edition, an ethical watch inspired by the River Rhine that highlights the plight of the world’s water sources and marks a new chapter in Oris’s mission to bring change for the better.

The new watch is based on the stylish Oris Aquis diver’s watch, one of the independent Swiss company’s signature designs. In keeping with Oris’s philosophy to ‘Go your own way’, every model in the line combines innovation, high-performance and high-quality Swiss design and engineering with price points that make sense in the real world.

The Oris Source of Life Limited Edition picks up on that theme, and also recognizes the role water plays in feeding, sustaining and connecting life. It focuses on the course of the River Rhine, chosen because it runs close to the village of Hölstein where Oris has been based since 1904, and because the Orisbach, a nearby brook from which the company takes its name, feeds into it.

The watch’s case back is embossed with a map of the River Rhine, which runs 1,233km (766 miles) through six countries from its source at the Lai da Tuma, or Tomasee, a lake 2,343 meters up in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, through to the North Sea. The river has been a source of life to those who live along it for centuries.

Because it’s based on the Oris Aquis, the Source of Life Limited Edition has the same roster of high-performance functions the Aquis is renowned for. Its 43.5mm stainless steel case is water-resistant to 30 bar (300 meters), and it has a uni-directional rotating bezel with a grey tungsten insert with a 60-minute timer scale for safely measuring dive times. The stainless steel case back of the Oris Source of Life Limited Edition is embossed with a map of the River Rhine and the watch’s limited edition number. The Oris Source of Life Limited Edition comes in a special presentation box. An insignia on the inside shows the course of the River Rhine.

The blue grey dial is inspired by the color of the fresh water at the River Rhine’s source. The date is indicated through a circular aperture running around the dial. The watch’s automatic movement provides it with its standout complication, an inventive circular date indicator shown by a scale running from 1 to 31 around the center of the watch’s dial. Inside it is a channel with a white indicator that aligns with the scale and makes a full tour of the dial once a month to show the date.

The watch also has a sweeping seconds hand with a ‘lollipop’ filled with luminescent Super-LumiNova®. This is a significant detail – to qualify for diver’s watch status, a watch must have a display that shows the running of the watch to indicate to the wearer that their dive timing is accurate. The Oris Source of Life Limited Edition comes on either a stainless steel metal bracelet or a grey rubber strap, both of which have stainless steel folding clasps that can be extended to be worn over a wetsuit. To reflect the height above sea level of the Lai da Tuma, 2,343 pieces have been made.

The Oris Source of Life Limited Edition is inspired by water and invites us to consider the eternal value of water philosophically. Water feeds, sustains and connects life – it’s time we recognized its real value. The retail price of the watch is approximately CHF 2,100 with a rubber strap and CHF 2,300 with a stainless steel bracelet.